CONTACT: Scott Reif (518) 703-1362
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, September 13, 2018
STATEMENT FROM SENATE MAJORITY LEADER JOHN J. FLANAGAN
For months, Governor Cuomo has lurched to the extreme left and embraced radical policies that the vast majority of hardworking New Yorkers and their families do not support. He has pardoned cop killers, rapists and murderers. He has allowed Level 3 sex offenders to vote in our schools and come in contact with our children. He has signaled support for a socialized health care system that would require billions in new taxes and be run exclusively by Albany bureaucrats, even though he can't fix the MTA. And, his "progressive" allies are eager to work with him to turn New York into a sanctuary state, even though it will cost us billions of dollars in federal aid and make our state less safe. Enough. We don’t believe in any of these things, and that is what makes us different.
These positions may have won Andrew Cuomo the votes of the liberal Democrats who came to the polls today, but in November every New Yorker will have their say.
The hardworking people that we meet in diners, at coffee shops, in district offices and on front door steps, all recognize that New York is still unaffordable for far too many middle-class families. They see that the Governor's economic development strategy has been a disaster and that corruption is overspreading his administration. They believe many in Albany care more about helping illegal immigrants and convicted violent criminals than law-abiding families who have been living and working here their entire lives. And, they know that Upstate, Long Island and the Hudson Valley will get nothing if our state government is wholly controlled by Andrew Cuomo and the New York City politicians.
Democrats have had a spirited intramural contest; I will give them that. But now, they own every position and every pander. Andrew Cuomo has ignored the real challenges facing middle-class families and appears intent on abandoning New York to run for President. The checks and balances, the accountability, and the leadership provided by Senate Republicans has never been more important than it is today.
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